Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has 148 "open allegations" of agent misconduct and potential criminal wrongdoing, including sexual assault, bribery and drug smuggling, from the last three years, internal records obtained by Newsweek show.
A House Intelligence Committee report warns artificial intelligence could become the same kind of blind spot that led to the September 11 attacks. The report cites testimony from Benjamin Buchanan, a Johns Hopkins professor and former White House Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence on the National Security Council, who compared AI to the 9/11 Commission's original finding that the attacks stemmed from a "failure of imagination."
Could a scientist intervene in a brain experiment on the other side of the world without leaving their desk? Researchers have now demonstrated that possibility by sending commands from Chicago to a wireless brain implant in Daejeon, South Korea, 10,596 kilometers (6,584 miles) away
The standard explanation for why rain causes corrosion is that water carries dissolved salts and acids to a surface, constant drumming of raindrops abrades whatever protective coating is on it, and oxygen does the rest. Nearly all our tools to prevent this -- paints, polymer films, or oxide layers -- are built around this idea. But we've apparently been missing something important about the rain.
The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to press on with his White House ballroom project -- over a strident objection from Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's liberal wing.
Another view...
OpEd: Odd that Lake Ontario would be what finally turns the public against Trump
thehill.com
... According to a YouGov poll, only 19 percent of Americans support Trump's maneuver, an obviously petty snub of our friendly neighbor to the north. Before declaring the negative polling "better late than never," however, it is worth pointing out that the naysayers might have jumped on the wrong legal bandwagon. This is one executive order that finds Trump on relatively legitimate legal footing -- which makes the public outrage almost tragic. ...
Hegseth removes 6 Army officers from promotion list
thehill.com
... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spiked the names of at least six Army officers from a list for promotions to two-star generals, a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Tuesday. ...
Venezuela's Oil Revival Is Slower Than the U.S. Hoped (August 24, 2026)
oilprice.com
...ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips remain reluctant to return to Venezuela, with negotiations slowed by demands for attractive fiscal terms and concerns over political and legal stability.
Smaller U.S. players are moving faster, with SLB and Hunt Oil signing agreements and Pacific Coast Energy pursuing an $800-million-backed expansion.
Venezuela's history of nationalizations remains a major deterrent, reinforced by a new $2-billion ownership dispute over oilfields potentially being transferred to Pacific Coast. ...
Another category ...
President Trump Job Approval - Inflation
www.realclearpolling.com
...
RCP Average 7/17 - 8/31
Approve: 28.1
Disapprove: 68.7
Spread: -40.6
...
House adopts measure condemning socialism ahead of November
www.cnbc.com
... The House of Representatives voted 220-192 to adopt a resolution to condemn socialism as early as Tuesday, an election-year gambit intended to force an uncomfortable vote for Democrats as far-left candidates win Democratic primaries across the country. ...
Non-paywall version ...
Putin pledges support to Iran, rallies leaders to challenge U.S.
www.spokesman.com
'Who knows if it will survive': Experts question how long Trump's Venezuela oil deal will last
www.politico.com
... Oil company executives and Venezuela experts are looking skeptically at the Trump administration's $100 billion plan to boost Venezuelan oil production, raising questions about whether the deal will yield significant oil any time soon " or ever.
Under the deal the White House announced Monday, the United States would receive a 35 percent stake in oil company North American Blue Energy Partners to drill for oil in Venezuela, the latest instance of the Trump administration taking shares in a private business. As part of the deal, the U.S. would have "preferential access" to 20 percent of the oil the company produces at cost.
The partnership, if successful, would kick-start oil production in Venezuela, something President Donald Trump has wanted since his administration plucked Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro from power in January. Trump and the GOP are promoting increased imports of Venezuelan crude into the United States as a possible balm for the high fuel prices that have plagued voters since the U.S. launched its attacks against Iran in late February.
Oil executives are warning, however, that the fields targeted for production will take years to develop and expressed little confidence that the deal the White House announced with a company few are familiar with would lead to much. ...
[many more concerns expressed in the article ...]
Trump says Venezuelan oil could replenish depleted U.S. stockpiles. Will it?
www.cbsnews.com
... President Trump has framed last week's deal for the U.S. government to take a stake in Venezuela's oil reserves as a boon not just for gas prices, but also for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has dropped to historically low levels.
"One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan Oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves," Mr. Trump wrote on social media Sunday, saying "the 'topping out' process will begin very shortly, and is a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States."
The plan could face hurdles, energy experts say. The oil produced in Venezuela is far heavier than most of the crude in U.S. reserves and would need to be converted. And rebuilding Venezuela's ailing oil industry could take years, requiring oil producers to invest billions while navigating the country's still-uncertain political and legal landscape.
"This project is very unlikely to produce new investment and new production anytime soon," said David Goldwyn, a former federal energy official who serves as president of the consulting firm Goldwyn Global Strategies and chairs the Atlantic Council's energy advisory group. He predicted the U.S. is "at least two years, if not five to seven years at best, away from seeing that production reach the SPR, directly or indirectly." ...
The Erosion of the Army
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns in protest over Hegseth's management of the Army.
outsidethebeltway.com
... Hegseth seems to have a special animus toward the Army, an institution he claims "spit me out."
He fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, and he has pushed out other senior Army officers; at this point, the Army has no Senate-confirmed chief of staff or secretary. (George's replacement, General Christopher LaNeve, so far does not have the necessary votes to be confirmed.) ...
@#5 ... Did he ban all license plate readers or just Flock? ...
Along those lines ...
Communities Nationwide Tearing Down Flock Cameras, Quietly Replacing Them With These Brands
www.military.com
... A wave of public backlash is pulling Flock's license plate reader cameras off streets nationwide. But in many communities, surveillance isn't ending and cameras are actually just changing brands.
As cities cancel their contracts with Flock Safety, more are hiring Axon instead. They are another law enforcement technology company that installs cameras that scan and track passing vehicles much as Flock cameras do, and they lack the public attention that Flock has received over the course of the past few months. ...
@#1 ... They need to own it. ...
Talk to the corporations that hire them.
Talk to the farmers who hire them.
An excerpt from the Border Patrol Union webpage that was deleted during fmr Pres Trump's first term:
web.archive.org